The present invention relates to personal communications systems such as those that combine the functionality of a personal digital assistant with wireless voice communications, such as cellular phones or satellite phones.
Recently, numerous efforts and attempts have been made to combine cellular phones with personal digital assistants. Although the terms cellular phone and personal digital assistant are used throughout, it is to be understood that both terms should be construed broadly. Cellular phones include satellite phones and other technologies for providing wireless voice communications. PDA is used to refer to handheld computers which have become known as personal digital assistants, handheld devices with organizer functions, and similar type devices. For example, Smart phones, or other cellular phones that offer wireless web services are considered to have PDA functionality.
Numerous attempts have been made to combine wireless voice services with wireless data services such as wireless web access services. Advances in the field have provided for the creation of devices that contain the functionality of a PDA with wireless voice communications. Problems remain in such combinations.
Currently, such solutions that combine PDA functionality with cellular phones suffer from a number of problems that do not occur when separate devices are used. One of the greatest problems recognized by the Applicant is that these prior art solutions do not provide for wireless data services to be used simultaneously with wireless voice services. This is problematic, as an operator of the device may want to talk to someone over the wireless phone while simultaneously accessing wireless data services such as the web. Because a shared line is used, both the wireless voice services and the wireless data services are not simultaneously accessible.
Furthermore, this inability to simultaneously access wireless voice and wireless data services may negatively effect service providers in that only one such service is being used although a user may desire to use both services simultaneously. Therefore, problems in the art remain.
As a primary object, feature, or advantage of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for a handheld personal communication device that improves upon the state of the art.
A further object, feature, or advantage of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for a handheld personal communications device capable of simultaneous wireless voice communications and wireless data communications.
It is a further object, feature, or advantage of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for a handheld personal communications device that permits service carriers to simultaneously generate wireless voice communications service charges and wireless data communications service charges.
A further object, feature, or advantage of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for a handheld personal communications device that permits a user to talk on a cellular phone while simultaneously viewing the wireless web.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are disclosed in the specification and claims.